Clearing my S2's name!

[pixsaudisex2]

Well done but i bet there is even more s2 rs2s out there that have an even worse history,,,An the owners dont even know it..

[S2Coupe_Nic]

You have not really cleared its name though have you? Just confirmed it is a ringer.

Still I like the trouble you have gone to and risk you have taken to get this car legal. Well done.

Fair point...not really cleared as such but it now ticks all the right boxes

[rj scotty]

Fair point...not really cleared as such but it now ticks all the right boxes

I think the Q plate and the story add depth and character to the car.

Would not put me of buying it.

cheers

rich

[sal_s2]

That data sticker is not always on the back of the dash, it can be on the back of the roof lining or under the carpet along the transmission tunnel.
The aby and 3b/cq floorpan are very different, e.g cat cutouts and battery tray thats why a cq would be, i wouldnt say impossible very very difficult to pass as an aby

[Jamo]

Even the early 1993 ABY's?

[sal_s2]

Yes, all aby had the battery under the rear seat, so different wiring loom etc, thats why the carpet is different aswell

[S2Coupe_Nic]

Anyone heard from ButchersS2 aka Liam? tried to get hold of him using the email account he used when I brought the car but no reply. Just wanted to point him to this thread. He spent a lot of money on the car and was shaking when he handed the keys over. Sorry if your reading this Liam but it does show the level of bond that some have with their cars.

[4WheelDrifter]

I'm confused as I remember this car being sold as a conversion not an S2.

http://www.s2forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25791

What evidence is there to say it's an S2 and not a converted CQ out of interest?

The whole car is evidence. There's a few clues when you first look at it it, but it's fairly obvious it's a '94 ABY Coupé when you look more closely.
They did a good job on hiding the original identity. Nic even gets a 'quattro' script rear screen IIRC.

I'm not sure if Nic was brave or stupid for taking it to the Police, but I guess it's worked out for him in the end, a ABY S2 Coupé in its condition for £3k is pretty good I think. He could have lost everything, money and car.
Judging by the drivers door lock it was probably stolen, so I just hope the outcome for that previous owner was a good one.

The sad thing is this is not the only S2 I have seen that has a different identity to the original. I his defence Nic's car was one of the 'better' ringers with a good cover story.
People should really do their homework before buying cars, and to not place too much trust in HPI checks.

I guess the other moral of the story is, if you steal a car, just make sure you make a good job of hiding the original identity. That way there's not really a lot that the Police, VOSA or the DVLA will do about it.

[S2Coupe_Nic]

I'm not sure if Nic was brave or stupid for taking it to the Police,

I think it was a bit of both!

Had the car insured with Direct Line. Cos it was a Coupe Quattro only the premium was ok. Just told Direct Line that it was an S2 and it added the equivilant of £400+ per year . Do not use Directline for performance vehicles but you all probably knew that

Also... They did a great job at erasing its old identity but you would of thought they would give it a cloned identity from a 94 (ish) S2 not a 89 CC

Nic

[S2Coupe_Nic]

Correction: 89 CQ

[4WheelDrifter]

I bet they had or bought the cq cheap, just to use its clean identity. Perfect to swap to the (stolen?) S2. Then with the conversion story they could sell it on. I bet the guy you bought it from didn't know, so you would have less reason to be suspicious.

I could be possible to trace back through the owners to find out where it came from. But do you really want to dig that up? From your point of view it's probably best you don't know.

[Jamo]

Dunno seems like a lot of hassle for nothing ( especially as you could have lost the car and 3k ) IMO but your happy with the outcome

[4WheelDrifter]

I think Nic did the right thing in turning it in. But he was lucky he got to keep it. What else could he do, apart from disposing of it? He couldn't continue driving a car that was not what it said it was. Imagine if he had an accident in it.

[arumdevil]

glad it's all sorted now mate. Did you ever fix that rattle?

[S2Coupe_Nic]

glad it's all sorted now mate. Did you ever fix that rattle?

the rattle was a rear top mount. All sorted.